Improvement in fifth-wheel platforms



A. H. BEACH.

FIFTH-WHEEL PLATFORMS.

Patented July 25; 1876.

UNITED STATES ALEXANDER H. BEACH,

OF LINDEN, MICHIGAN.

IMPROVEMENT IN FIFTH- WHEEL PLATFORMS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No June To all whom it mayconcern: 7

Be it known that I, ALEXANDER H. BEACH, of Linden, in the county ofGenesee and State of Michigan, have invented an Improved Fifth-WheelPlatform for Vehicles, of which the following is a specification:

The object of my invention is to so construct a futehell-platform forsupporting the fifth-wheel of 'a carriage as to combine lightness withgreat strength, to resist flexure under the stress of a heavy load. Tothis end my invention consistsin trussing the futchells, as more fullyhereinafter set forth.

Figure l is a perspective view. Fig. 2 is a bottom plan. I

In the drawing, A represents the outer futchell, bent to a V shape. B Bare the inner futchells, bent to such shape as, when put together, willrepresent a letter Y, with a central bar, 0, between their parallelsides. a a are filling-blocks between the front ends of the futchells AB, and b a block between the angle of the outer futchell and the outwardly-turned rear ends of the futchells B B. D is the fifth-wheel,clipped on the level platform formed by the upper edges of thefutchells. Under each side of the outer futchell is a pair of pendentposts, 0 c, welded to the lower edge thereof, with an eye in the lowerend of each, through which passes a tie-rod, d, whose ends pass throughbrackets 'e 0,

180.3 16, dated July 25, 1876; application filed forged to the underside of the said futchell, near each end thereof, the ends of the saidrod being screw-threaded to receive screwnuts, by means of which it isput under tension to resist flexure of the futchell at each side.

At the angle of the inner futchells there is a strut, c, pendent fromthe center beam, and flanged to support the two inner futchells. Throughthe two eyes in its foot pass two tierods, d 1, bent to pass throughbrackets an der the front ends of said futchells, where they receivetheir screw-nuts. Their rear ends pass through similar brackets underthe rear ends of said futchells, and the rods are put under such tensionas to resist the flexureof the inner futchells under the stress of aload imposed through the fifth-wheel upon them. The platform thustrussed may be very light, and yet strong enough to sustain any loadthat the vehicle can carry.

What I claim as my invention is- The combination with the futchells A BB bent in the form described, the tie-rods d d, the posts 0, strut c,and brackets c, all constructed and arranged substantially as set forthand shown.

' ALEXANDER H. BEACH.

Witnesses I H. F. EBERTS,

H. S. SPRAGUE.

